Absorbent wearing article and process of making the same

Abstract

An absorbent wearing article including an air permeable and liquid-impervious backsheet and a liquid-retentive absorbent structure placed on the backsheet. An outer sheet has having elastic members is placed on and bonded to a surface of the backsheet opposed to its surface bonded to the absorbent structure. The outer sheet has the elastic members intermittently bonded under tension thereto, and is formed in a region thereof facing the absorbent structure with an opening. The elastic members extend laterally under tension from a peripheral edge of the opening beyond the absorbent structure and the first backsheet is exposed through the opening.

1. A process for making an absorbent wearing article including an air permeable and liquid-impervious first backsheet and a liquid-retentive absorbent structure placed upon said first backsheet, comprising the steps of:
 continuously feeding continuous elastic members in a direction parallel to a machine direction to a continuous outer sheet continuously fed in said machine direction while said continuous elastic members are intermittently bonded under tension to the continuous outer sheet; 
 making cuts extending orthogonally to said machine direction in the continuous outer sheet having said continuous elastic members bonded thereto so that said continuous elastic members are at least partially chopped off to form an opening by said cuts enlarged by contraction of said continuous elastic members adjacent to said cuts; and 
 bonding the side of said absorbent structure facing said first backsheet to said continuous outer sheet to cover said opening. 
 
     
     
       2. The process for making the absorbent wearing article according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 said absorbent wearing article is symmetric about a center line when said absorbent wearing article is developed in a flattened state; 
 said absorbent wearing article comprises a front waist region, a crotch region and a rear waist region in this order in a direction parallel to said center line; 
 said center line is orthogonal to said machine direction of said continuous outer sheet; 
 said continuous elastic members are fed to said front waist region and said rear waist region; 
 said cuts are made in a direction parallel to said centerline so as to extend from said front waist region to said rear waist region; and 
 the first backsheet of said absorbent structure is bonded to said outer sheet from said front waist region to said rear waist region so as to cover said opening. 
 
     
     
       3. The process for making the absorbent wearing article according to  claim 1 , including a step of coating the regions along which said cuts are made with hot melt adhesive in the direction orthogonal to said machine direction before the step of making the cuts in said continuous outer sheet. 
     
     
       4. The process for making the absorbent wearing article according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 said outer sheet comprises a continuous second backseet bonded to said first backsheet and a continuous outer covering sheet bonded placed upon and bonded to said second backsheet; 
 said continuous elastic members are interposed between said continuous second backsheet and said continuous outer covering sheet and bonded thereto; and 
 said first backsheet on a side of said first backsheet is bonded to said continuous second backsheet. 
 
     
     
       5. The process for making the absorbent wearing article according to  claim 1 , further comprising making a plurality of cuts spaced one from another along said machine direction for forming a plurality of individual diapers from said continuous outer sheet, continuous elastic members and a plurality of absorbent structures.